Those Who Help Demons

E

EquinoxSol

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Logan ran through the forest near his house, panting and nearly out of breath. He could hear the soldiers behind him, their feet crunching on the foliage. His foot fell heavily in a deep puddle, and, in a rush, be had to pull it free from his shoe, leaving the thing behind. Running as fast as he could, his dark hair plastered to his skin by the rain that just would not stop pouring from the skies, Logan tried to find his way, but the dark of night prevented him from seeing any of the landmarks he had followed as a kid. His breath was heavy and ragged as he sprinted, nearly tripping over every fallen branch and root he came across.

Finally, through the rain that was pouring like sheets from the unforgiving sky, Logan saw the twin candles in the attic of his house, signaling that it was safe there.

Though it was too dark to see, it was a beautiful house. It was painted snow white with light blue accents. It was an older house, but it still stood strong. The long wraparound porch was sagging on a corner towards the back, but it was still standing. It must have been magnificent in its glory days, and it still was now, but Logan often wished that he could have seen it in its prime. The building's original use was unsure; it had a large building that was furnished and built as a home. However, off to the side of it, there was a chapel with no steeple. The furniture had long since been removed from the place of worship, but it still held that holy reverance to it.

And right now, that building looked like Heaven to Logan.

Glancing behind him, he couldn't hear or see the soldiers. Running to the back porch, he doesn't even bother knocking, knowing that his partner had probably forgotten to lock it again.

Truth be told, it was unlocked. Stepping inside,he took a deep, happy breath. Five years had been too long to stay away. She had been only 15 then. Now his partner would be a young woman.

What she didn't know was that he had been arrested, and hadn't just disappeared or betrayed her like she must have thought. He had gotten caught when a demon had turned him in. Logan had been held in a prison for demon extermination for those five years, maturing into a young man of 22, while he feared that each day might be his last. He had never been given a proper hearing, and was still waiting for a sentence when he saw an opportunity to escape. After taking that opportunity, he led the soldiers across most of the state, running for home. He just prayed his partner was still alive and well.

Smiling to himself, he opened the kitchen pantry, taking out a box of crackers. It was a great feeling to be home again.
 
"Quiet!" Sasha hissed in the darkness. Soaked to the bone, she felt a shiver go up her spine from the freezing rain as she pressed her body closer to a wall of one of the buildings. She focused ahead in the direction of the bridge where it led back to the downtown part of the city, a few miles away from her home. She glanced at her watch quickly, a quarter before midnight and cursed silently. They're late. She looked behind her, her brows furrowed as the faces of her comrades were weary and discouraged. It's been weeks now since their journey back, starting out as a healthy group of five and now only three. The Church somehow got wind of their latest relocation and in the midst of trying to keep the demon safe while saving their own skins, the other two were captured and killed.

She gritted her teeth when she saw the two and quickly glanced away, back to focusing on the bridge. I can't wait a moment longer. She raised her hand, motioning for the other two that she was departing. "Be careful!" One of them said. She sighed, and responded, "Do you not know what quiet means? And I will be fine. Both of you get back home safely. This will be the last time I'm taking either of you with me." Without another word, she started running towards the bridge. She dreaded taking this way because it was too open of an area, but it was the quickest route to get back home.

As she reached the end of the bridge, she stopped dead in her tracks as she heard familiar armor clinking against the cobblestone. Damn. She looked back and forth, searching for a hiding spot. The buildings on this side were rundown and very tight knit to each other. There was no way for her to fit in between any of the compact spaces despite her small figure. The clinking was getting louder now and they were about to round the corner from the alleyway. She straightened up as she zipped her black jacket up and confidently started walking towards the sound. She shoved her hands into her jacket and kept her head low.

When she walked steadily through the alleyway, the armored knights were leaving. Even though she made no eye contact, she felt their eyes instantly go to her, watching her warily and observing her movements. Natural, Sasha, just keep walking. She glanced in the corner of her eye and grimaced a bit as the last one finally passed her. That's why the guards were late? Why are there so many knights out here? Contemplating about it, she didn't realize she reached home. She briskly walked over to the back porch, her head turned slightly to make sure none of the knights had suspected her and started following her. Sure enough they weren't, she opened the door and felt the heat rush in to warm her cold and tired body.

She gaped at the man that stood in front of her, who in turn looked as if he was surprised to see her while holding a box of crackers in one hand. No way. She shook out the shock and picked up one of the kitchen knives. She exclaimed, "Where the hell have you been?" as the knife flew into the air heading straight to her long lost partner.
 
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As soon as Logan was eating his first cracker, having not eaten for three days and knowing that he hadn't had decent food since before his arrest, he heard a noise at the door. Spinning around, scarfing down the cracker as quickly s possible, thinking he was being arrested again. However what he saw took his breath away. When he had left, she was little more than a girl, and now...now, she was a beautiful young woman. His breath catching in his throat, he tried to come up with a proper explanation for her.

Seeing the knife coming at him, he ducked, and the knife buried itself in the cabinets behind him. Setting the box of crackers on the counter, he walked over to her, pulling her into an embrace. When he had left, she was soft and cute, but now she felt distinctly female as he held her.

"I come home after five years, and the welcome I get is a knife thrown at me," he murmured, not wanting to let go of her. "Nice to know I've been missed."

Finally stepping away from her, he couldn't keep a small, sad smile off his face. "Look, I'll explain later. Right now, I'm tired, I haven't eaten in three days, I can't remember the last time I had a shower, and I'm pretty sure that whoever used to own these clothes was killed by the Church. I just want to relax a little bit before I need to be responsible again."
 
Watching him duck, Sasha fumed in anger. All this time and not even a single letter. He expects to just appear out of nowhere without being penalized? Before she could reach for another knife, she suddenly froze at the touch of him, her anger slowly ebbing away as he talked to her. She scrunched up her nose, not enjoying the husky smell at such close proximity. She noticed he's gotten taller, obviously, and his hair longer since she last saw him. When he finally released her, she straightened up and eyed him cautiously. His clothes were completely tattered and shredded, his feet bare and now wrinkling possibly from the rain. She flicked her eyes to his face, when she started concentrating to what he was saying. Instantly, she looked away. Still a pretty boy as always.

Sighing, she rushed past him and headed straight to the bathroom. She grabbed a towel, and quickly walked back to the kitchen. She threw it over Logan's head, right before giving him a slight glare and opened the fridge. There was hardly anything in there, since she was never home, but a few eggs and it looked to be well past the expiration date. She closed it, leaned up on the fridge, and crossed her arms. She frowned, starting to feel hunger creeping up as well. Sasha looked up towards the kitchen sink window, noticing it was still pouring down with rain and darker than black outside. Too late to find food and too dangerous now with those knights out.

"Just rest for now," She finally said after a moment's silence, "I don't have food here, so finish those crackers. We'll search for something tomorrow morning. Clean yourself up. Your clothes are still in your bedroom."
 
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"Really?" He wondered aloud. "I would have thought that you'd have rented out my room and sold my clothes." Struggling to stay light of heart as he thought about getting to sleep in his own bed, he practically ran up the stairs. If he thought she would have let him, he would have collapsed in the hallway and slept there, but she would have kicked him until he woke up. Finding his room, it was staggering as he walked in.

Everything was as he had left it five years ago, from the dirty clothes on the floor to the papers scattered everywhere on his desk. Peeling off his muddy, ruined clothes, he took time only to pull on a clean pair of boxers before throwing the towel to the floor and falling into bed. Not bothering with the blankets, he was out as soon as his head hit the pillow.

When he awoke, well past noon, he crawled out of his bed, groaning tiredly. For a second, he could almost imagine that he was seventeen again, until he remembered fullywhat had happened last night. His body a mass of aches and pains, he pulled on a pair of soft Pajama pants before leaving his room. "Sasha, you awake?" He asked the house, stifling back a heavy yawn.
 
Sasha watched as Logan dashed out of the kitchen, and she tried hard to not smile. Despite that he's now a grown man, he still acts like how he did five years ago. She shivered, and realized that she was still soaked from the rain. She took a quick shower and headed off to bed herself after she was finished. Letting sleep welcome her and relieve her from the exhaustion.

She woke up early next morning, dressed herself, and left the house, heading towards the market square. He's probably still asleep. She thought as she walked through the alleyway. She paused a bit, looking slightly back. He'll be fine. I'll only be gone for a few minutes. The last time she left Logan alone by himself, he had disappeared. Unfortunately, it was in Sasha's nature to doubt him after that. They were partners for who knows how long and she never felt closer to anyone else. He let her into the world of saving these demons and ultimately changed her path which could've ended up her hunting him down for violation against the Church. When he had disappeared, she had no idea where to go from there and ended up fending for herself. Tch. She sighed heavily, when she finally arrived at the market square, trying her best to ignore her impending thoughts.

Sasha went into the building of her immediate right, it was slightly run down, shingles hanging off the roof and dust and dirt forming up on the windows. The familiar doorbell rang, and Sasha was greeted by a high pitch shrill of a teapot. She glanced around the cafe, several customers buried in the blackness in the back eating or drinking whatever. She started walking up to the counter, just as a heavy set woman took the tea pot off of the stove in the kitchen. Sasha peeped through the small window separating the counter and kitchen, she raised her voice a little bit to get the attention of the woman, "Lula, I'm here to pick up my monthly supplies." Happily surprised by Sasha's presence, Lula turned around and exclaimed, "Sasha! Yes, yes, anything for you!" She ran off out of Sasha's sight and came running back through the swing doors from the kitchen; her arms full of two large brown bags. She laid it down onto the counter and gleamed at Sasha. "It'll only be ten today!" Sasha frowned a bit, "Ten? You should receive more than that-" "Ah, bup!" Lula interrupted her, "I know how hard it is since Logan has disappeared. So, please. Just ten."

Murmuring a thank you, she gave Lula the money, grabbed the two bags making sure they are steady, and started to walk away. No point in arguing. Honestly was a good deal, and I need this much even more now. She looked behind her, Lula quickly waved goodbye before heading back to the kitchen. Shaking her head, Sasha exited the shop and started heading home.
 
Quickly finding that there was no Sasha to be found, Logan gobbled down the rest of the crackers, practically starving. When he finished the crackers, he checked the windows and doors, not wanting a passerby to see him. That wouldn't be good, especially since the soldiers were now looking for him.

After that, he moved about the house, taking it all in. He still remembered the years he had spent growing up here. Sasha had come into his life when he was twelve, and it became his job to train her three years later. He had, and now she was as good as he was, at least in knife-throwing. As he walked about the house, wondering what he could have missed, he smelled himself.

Tuning to take a shower, he used Sasha's shampoo and soap to wash himself. When he stepped out of the steaming shower, he changed into new underwear, though he kept on his pajama pants. After shaving, glad she had left his razor in its drawer with his other things, he wandered to the front room, sprawling on the couch and waiting for Shasha to come back.

It was nerve wracking to wait. He tried imaging Sasha going through this for five years, and felt that he would have gone crazy. Terrified that she might never come back, it took all his willpower not to run out into the streets to search for her. She would be fine, he told himself, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared up at the ceiling
 
Finally back she pushed the back door open with her foot, trying her best to hold up the heavy bags. She went over to one of the kitchen counters and placed them on top of it. She looked behind her, and squinted her eyes a bit toward the living room. It was hard to see, the curtains weren't drawn. Tsk, is he still not awake then? She walked into the room briskly, and forcefully opened up the drapes. The light came shining in and Sasha turned around behind her noticing the prescence on the couch. She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Lazying around aren't you?" She glared at him a bit before pointing her chin up, motioning towards the kitchen. "I brought groceries and supplies. Help yourself." She brought her arms down and went back to the kitchen where the bags lay. She began putting away the groceries into the fridge and pantry. "Logan," she paused, saying his name was strange to her tongue after so many years, "when will you explain what happened to you so many nights ago?
 
Logan had been dozing on the couch when Sasha had returned. At first he hadn't heard her, but once she spoke directlybto him, he jumped and rolled off of the couch, landing with a thump. Sitting up, he looked to her, grinning and happy that she was back. "Nice to see you, too," he said, standing. Following her into the kitchen, he dove into one of the bags, still ravenous.

However, his hunger left him once Sasha spoke to him again. Straightening, he set a can of peaches on the counter heavily, sighing as he remembered.

"Come on," he said, taking her wrist and leading her to the living room, sitting down on the couch. "W-what do you think happened to me?" He asked her warily, looking to her seriously. He wanted to protect her from the horrors the Church caused not only demons but innocent people as well. Maybe then, he might be able to go back to the happier time when they were both still kids in adult's clothes.
 
Unwillingly being dragged out from the kitchen and onto the couch, Sasha frowned. "I don't know what happened to you." She looked away from him, her brows furrowed. "I thought you were dead, or-" It took her a few seconds to say it but she hissed it out under her breath, "abandoned me. Tch." She knew it was neither, both of those reasons seemed absurd. They were both equally careful when it came to relocating demons and knowing how much of a problem they were to the church being that she had been there before, killing kids like the two of them back then was pointless. As for him abandoning her, she brought her eyes back to him and stared at him as she noticed he was still wearing his pajamas, a look of hunger and worry across his face; Sasha smirked, he would be lost without me. It was more of her pride that stopped her from saying what she really felt. Logan's disappearance wasn't his fault obviously, she grit her teeth as she started thinking, if I wasn't there to watch him, he wouldn't have gone to who knows where.

"Anyway," Her cheeks were now flushed and she could feel that she was losing control of her emotions, she needed this conversation to continue and end quickly. "Go on, tell me your long story."
 
Logan nodded slowly, arranging his thoughts. Finally, he began, "When you had left that night, to go buy groceries or something, that demon we were helping turned on me. He got the police on me, and apparently hhe had been working for them, because they didn't arrest him. They took me in, and I rotted in a place where they kill demons they take in 'cause they can. I had to fight tooth and nail in order to survive each day. It was hell. I'm sorry I left you here alone."

Moving closer to her, he wrapped his arms around her, hair still slightly damp from the shower he had taken. "But I'm back now. I promise, I won't leave you alone again." As he held her close to him, he stifled back tears, all the emotions he had felt the last five years bubbling up to the surface. "I'm so sorry, Sasha."
 
Listening to what Logan had to say, she felt even more guilty. Of course, I should've known! She cursed silently, putting all the blame on herself and was hardly surprised when Logan wrapped his arms around her. She stayed quiet for a bit, letting him be as close as he could unlike many other times where she would push him off. In the end, she really did miss him as well. It was lonely and depressing at this house, the reason being why she was always absent and taking on missions that fatigued her so she wouldn't have to come back home alone. Sighing, she finally pushed him away for a bit, allowing some space between them before reaching up and patting the top of his head, feeling the wet strands between her fingers.

"It's not your fault." She solemnly said to him."It's mine. You're back now, and that's all that matters. The church will pay for this, I swear."

The Church. Their snobby way of believing their word is final say with the false premise of it being the will of god. It makes Sasha twitch with anger that she had once followed the same beliefs. True, that there were demons who were quite dangerous but there were still innocents in the entire matter. The entire human race was not hopeless, as proved when the first outbreak came about. The church was now taking control like they have done so many centuries ago, this time instead of god needing gold and money from nobles, it was demon blood. Though, I wish I could find that demon.. I would show him a few things or two.
 
"It's not your fault either, Sasha," he said, frowning slightly. "It's that bastard demon's fault. Don't blame yourself." He smiled now, gently patting her shoulder. "God," he murmured, "you're twenty years old now. Can't believe I've missed your sixteenth birthday. How've you been holding out?" He grinned at her, running his fingers through her hair. "You hair's gotten so long now...what else have I missed?"

Standing up, he got her to her feet before walking to the kitchen, rifling through the bags she had brought back. His smile widening as he found a box of cookies, he asked "I thought you didn't like this kind. Don't tell me you kept buying them after I left."
 
Her face reddened as his fingers ran through her hair. Luckily, he helped her up off the couch, and went to the kitchen before she could feel even more embarrassment. Logan has always been like this, friendly and kind. Sasha really didn't understand why, as much of a bland person she thought she was. She huffed and crossed her arms as she followed Logan. "It's habit. Don't think of it as anything big."

She narrowed her eyes, as she watched Logan. "So then, the knights last night were after you? That's not good at all." She mumbled as she worried. To think, I thought I would have been done working with amateurs. "There's a mission coming up soon from home office." She sighed heavily, as she walked over to Logan and reached in the bag to grab a cookie. She stuffed one in her mouth as she murmured, "I don't think I can trust you here by yourself.." She frowned, disgust across her face, "Ugh, these are so terrible."

There was a hard knock on the front door, interrupting them and Sasha instantly turned around. She glared at the door, almost as if she was trying to see who it was. Swallowing her food down, she straightened up, her fists clenched, and haughtily walked to the sound. No one ever knocks on that door, .. So that must mean.. She hissed at Logan, "Go. Hide. Now."
 
After taking a couple cookies from the packaging, and putting one in his mouth, he heard the knock at the door. Jumping, he as already on his way to ththe closet under the stairs, where he had made his typical hiding spot in the years before. Shutting the door, he opened a large chest made specifically for hiding. Crawling into it, he pulled the top shut, pulling his knees to his chest.

Eating another cookie, he sighed, trying to breathe as silently possible. He had no way of knowing who was out there, but he had to hope that it wasn't the soldiers. He also hoped that Sasha was quick enough on her feet if she needed to lie or create a story.

Maybe it's just the tax collector, Logan thought idly. Pretty quickly, he was thinking about Sasha. She's so grown-up now...I have missed so much. Frowning to himself in the dark as his eyes adjusted to the dim, he tried to clear his mind and listen for sound on the other side of the closet door.
 
Her hand hesitated on the knob, the knocking coming again, louder this time. "Open up! We know you're in there!" The voice on the other side demanded. Pursing her lips, she twisted the knob, and opened the door, slightly cracking it where only her face was shown outside.

Sasha brought her hand up, shielding her eyes from the sun as the towering figures looked down at her. Her eyes widened at them. "You, but-" She wasn't able to finish her sentence as they knocked her down forcefully through the door. She flew, hitting the couch with her back. Sasha grit her teeth and hurriedly pushed herself up onto the it. They were heading toward her now, Sasha reached into the cushions, her hidden weapons residing there, and drew a knife from it. She glared at the two as they stopped moving.

"Bastards!" She shouted at them, as she reached into her boot bringing out another knife. "What is it now!?" They said nothing, staring her down through the helm.

Logan wasn't the only one being hunted, Sasha was also wanted by the church as well for insubordination and deserting. This was many years ago, before Logan had disappeared. They've given up on the search, as attempted attacks on her have always ended up with seriously injured or dead. At least, so she thought. These weren't knights from the church though, they had the gall to put a bounty on her head which by chance was taken down a couple of years ago. Familiar bounty hunters every now and then would recognize her, saddened, they had no motive to capture her. On the other hand, the ones here were all too familiar.

She readied herself to attack, in case they made a move. Surprisingly they only kept staring at her, losing her patience she demanded, "Well? What exactly do you want?" Another figure appeared through the doorway, a tall lean man, with golden locks, a stern handsome face, and nicely dressed. He smiled at her, finding her in this position quite amusing.

He responded to her question, "Now now, sorry for being so rough. But I wanted to see how well you took to my welcoming." He chuckled to himself as he edged nearer to her, Sasha instantly brought the knife in front of her, pointed directly at him. "Come any closer, and you should be well aware what I can do with you." The guards moved to prevent any harm from their boss, but he only waved them away and went back to their positions. He smiled at her with a cold gleam in his eyes. "Sasha, my dear. I'm here to kill you, obviously. You are harboring a fugitive and even if you aren't, I'm going to tear that little adorable soul of yours that I've been chasing for years and make it mine."

The first guard moved, catching her off guard as she fumed in anger. He swung a fist at her, but Sasha was quick enough to dodge it and skidded down from the couch. As she fell back onto the floor landing on her feet in a crouched position. She dashed under his legs when he tried to grab for her, making her two knives slice his inner thighs. He yelled in pain, and without hesitation, Sasha turned around and stabbed in the back vitally hitting his organs. The guard tumbled down after she withdrew her knives from the bleeding flesh, not enough time though to dodge an attack from the other guard. She raised up her arms to protect herself, feeling the brass knuckles hit her flesh. She grimaced at the pain and ducked from the next swing. Dammit, Logan! See what trouble you bring me! Another swing came, Sasha used her arm to block it once again, this time making sure it didn't really hit her. With all her strength she pushed the arm off, bringing the knife down onto the guard's thigh. Shouting in pain, he smacked her in the face, trying to get her to back off but Sasha tolerated the pain as she felt the cool brass slicing her skin not moving an inch. Leaving the knife in his thigh, she took her other knife, leaping up to reach the man's height, and stabbed his throat. The guard gargled and fell over, bleeding on the floor as his body twitched.

Panting heavily, she glared at the man that had silently sat throughout the entire commotion calmly, smoking a cigar while leaning on the doorway. He put it in his mouth, and clapped lazily. "Well done!" Her murmured. He took the cigar out from his mouth, and turned around from her heading his way out of the door. "This won't be the last time I'll see you." His eyes turned red when he looked back at her, darkness enveloped him and like that, he disappeared. "Demon!" She shouted at him, as she angrily kicked the dead body near her. Dammit!
 
Hearing the sounds of a battle outside the door, probably in the front room, Logan debated whether it was wise to go out there and help Sasha. However, before he could make a decision, he heard Sasha's shout of , "Demon!"

That decided it. He climbed out of the chest, rushing out of the closet. "Sasha?" He asked as he ran into the front room. A slight grin formed as he saw the two bodies on the floor, but it disappeared as soon as he smelled the smoke. "What did you do here? What happened?" Moving to the door, he made sure no one saw him as he shut it, throwing the lock.

"You know we gotta get these bodies out of here...unless you've built that giant body pit under the house that I've always wanted." Jokingly, he let his face become hopeful, but only briefly. But seriously, what the hell happened?"
 
She glared over to Logan when he burst out from his hiding spot and her face suddenly softened feeling guilty for getting angry at him. She knew it wasn't his fault, but now that he's a wanted man more than ever, they're going to be toyed with him again and hunted. Sighing, she looked back down at the dead bodies. She moved one over with her foot, and leaned down, grabbed the dagger from the man's leg, and wiped the blood on her tights.

"We don't have time for this. We need to leave. Now." She stuck the clean knife back into the hidden slot of her boot and threw the other one down onto the ground. Sasha reached up to her face, touching her cheek with her fingertips, the sudden feeling made her eye twitch from the pain. Scoffing, she looked down at her fingers seeing the blood. "Damn bastard hit my face." She said angrily. "Anyway," Sasha started heading back to the kitchen and grabbed a few food supplies from the bags, "let's pack up. Damon still keeps in contact and I know where he's residing at now. Do you remember him?"
 
"Vaguely, " Logan answered. "I could barely make it back here, so remembering some old friend is hard for me..." he trailed off before saying, "I'll pack stuff we need." Running up the stairs, he gets an old backpack and stuffs a change of clothes into it. In Sasha's room, he does the same, trying not to feel creepy or uncomfortable about it. Changing quickly into pants and a t-shirt, he searches his room for his emergency stash of money. Shoving all the money he could find in his pockets, he rushed down the stairs, nearly tripping on the last one.

"Ready?" He asked, slinging his bag over one shoulder. "Want me to help?"
 
Sasha nodded to him as he ran up the stairs and reached into one of the side closets to grab a satchel. Quickly she stuffed the food they needed, making sure to place the cans at the bottom and put it over her shoulder, letting it hang on her side. Taking one of the cloths on the counter, she went over to the sink and turned the knob, letting the water dampen it.

She turned to Logan when he came back as she brought the cloth to her cheek, wiping off the blood. "Yes," She said continuing to wipe as she ignored the pain. She gave the house a once over, frowning. "I guess, we can never come back here again. To think," Sasha looked down to ground, taking a deep breath. "now that you've come back it would had felt like home again." Her cheeks flushed pink, she pressed harder on her small injury trying her best to hide her embarrassment.
 
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